Maybe things aren’t what they seem?
Written by Christine Fennelly
This winter was a killer on all of us – and the mounds of snow and salt were especially harsh on our streets and roadways. Whether you drive, cycle or walk, chances are you’ve encountered a pothole or two, or ten, that are not only hazardous to your vehicle or cycle, but dangerous to your health, too.
The City of Boston has vowed to repair the treacherous potholes. Mayor Walsh said as much in his State of the City address in January: “We paved more than 60 miles of roads [in 2014] and filled over 19,000 potholes – 50% more than in 2013.” The Boston Globe later reported that these numbers were questionable.
However, some simple follow-up research has revealed that the work is not getting done, and in cases where a repair has been made, many times the work is shoddy and incomplete.
Thanks to the intrepid reporting of the folks at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting (www.necir.org) new evidence suggests that not only is the city not repairing potholes at breakneck speed, but Boston Public Works employees are registering pothole repairs as “closed” on the city’s Citizen Connect site when in fact they have not been repaired.
You can red the full article by NECIR reporters Naomi LaChance and Brooke Williams here. http://necir.org/2015/07/22/holes-in-the-system/
In the meantime, let’s get Southie more involved in the process. You can tweet to @NECIRBU with #holesinthesystem to report potholes and repair needs.
Additionally, you can view the potholes in Southie as well as the rest of the city and report if they have been properly repaired or not. You can also see the city’s photos and information on the repair status. This is a very informational interactive map designed by the NECIR staff.
http://necir.org/2015/07/22/hashtag-holes-in-the-system/
